Just wanted to see what people think about RTE's programmes for students/teenagers etc and their "attempts" at music programmes.
Just thaught about this when I heard that for the second year running, RTE had chosen the artist to perform at Eurovision without giving the public any say.
They chose a trad group - Dervish - and the song will be chosen from 3 finalists by public vote as part of the "Late Late Show". Last year they sent Bryan Kennedy and failed miserably, almost as badly as the three previous years when the entrant was chosen in a cheap "X Factor" style show.
I guess it's no surprise from the PSB whose answer to Radio 1 includes Marty Whelan, Gerry Ryan, Dave Fanning, Larry Gogan (<- they've all been there since 1979 and haven't changed at all...), but why can't RTÉ get the message that most of the people voting are teenagers on the continent - how else did a group of monsters with guitars win last year?!
They could at least give the average voting audience of Eurovision a say iover who represnts their country (The Late Late Show is the last place you'd find them).
I suggest an order of nuns, a giant bodhrán and a monkey. Otherwise RTE should stop entering things they don't stand a chance at anymore. The days of "You're voting for the song, not the singer" are gone, so the tacky ballads that won in the 90s just won't do anymore. What do you think?
I live in North Wicklow so I spend most of my time outside Spin's coverage. Anyway, "Livin the life - lovin' the music" sounds like something 20 years old and it is meant to be POPULAR MUSIC, not Gerry Ryan (neither popular nor music if you ask me...)
Personally, I'm not sure the National Song Contest should ever have been abolished. Supposedly Eurovision is a song contest, yet RTÉ first tried a format where we were picking a singer, not a song, then last year chose the singer, and after deciding none of the enterants were good enough let that same singer enter his own song, which surprise-surprise was the winner!
Anyways...2FM - Larry Gogan has announced his retirement from the weekday slots this week, though he'll still have a weekend slot. One "elder statesman" of 2FM is fine - consider that BBC Radio 1 had John Peel for even longer. But its not just one - 2FM's listenership is getting younger while its DJs are getting older. Dave Fanning has now moved tor RTÉ Radio 1, but why are the likes of Marty Whelan presenting on the station. Why is Gerry Ryan there at all - his show has all the hallmarks of your typical Radio 1 show but its on the wrong channel!
What RTÉ Radio needs really is to seperate Radio 1 into two stations - a talk station and a country/trad/MORM station, with some of the 2FM shows moved to these and 2FM's age profile being brought younger. But it would be a brave controller which would play with the stations format (mind you, if a brave controller exists, its Ana Leddy who has shaken it up a bit, but not too much...).
As for Spin 1038 - I'm sorry, I can't respect any station that introduces its news with the line "Hi I'm Rory, here's da Story" and gives us "Five Word Weather"...
Well in all fairness superdudeman, you shouldn't complain about the way they're selecting the entrant now - you're a star was and still is a complete failure and they recognised that so they cut the ties with eurovision. You know as well as me that if they were to continue doing YAS for eurovision, you'd end up with an amateur performance every time so I can't understand why you don't seem to want professional performers selected by RTE themselves.
Brian Kennedy is one of the most well known irish singers at the moment and I thought he gave a performance for Ireland that we've not seen the likes of in many many years (although I didn't think much of the song itself). He got 10th place which was the highest placing for Ireland since 2000 so obviously RTE did something right!! Considering that 37 countries took part,is very respectable in my opinion - that would be equal to about 5th place when there used to be only 24 countries in the competition - I'd hardly call that a failure! OK he didn't win but that doesn't mean he wasn't successful.
If you were to hold a national song contest again, you'd probably end up with amateur performers like we had in the last few years because no successful performer like Brian or Dervish really needs to do eurovision - its not the stepping stone like it used to be. And how many good song-writers are going to bother writing a song for an amateur performer? The best way is what they're doing now - they're more likely to get an established performer if they go around and ask them themselves. Then if you have an established performer, you'll attract established song-writers to write songs for them. That would surely lead to a better result like it did last year.
And regarding the selection last year - Brian's song won for 2 reasons. 1) It was the best of a mediocre lot and
2) They offered a chance to everybody who voted for the winning song to enter a draw for a car. They showed the voting stats half-way through the show when Brian's song was winning so obviously anybody who wanted to win the car was going to vote for the song that was already winning. It was a pure sham - they wanted to get people voting so they showed the leaderboard before the voting was finished -
you never do that
!! They're lucky the best song won on the night but they better not pull any fast ones next time.
But how do they expect teenagers on the continent (I know loads of other people watch eurovision but none of them are bothered voting) to choose Brian or Dervish over a group of slappers or some decaying corpses?
Isn't it all part of RTE's plan to make sure they don't have to stage the Eurovision again? Given Ireland's performances in the Eurovision and the voting patterns over the past 10 years, Brian Kennedy did rather well to finish 10th last year.
As for 2fm, it needs someone like Matthew Bannister to get rid of the dead wood (Rick O'Shea?!?) and model itself more on BBC Radio 1 with presenters a youth audience can relate to and a music policy that will target that audience. The last I listened to 2fm over Christmas, it was playing one song from the 1980s followed by a more recent song, then another song from the 1980s.
But how do they expect teenagers on the continent (I know loads of other people watch eurovision but none of them are bothered voting) to choose Brian or Dervish over a group of slappers or some decaying corpses?
I'm sure its not only teenagers who vote SDM - in fact I'd say its teenagers who have the least interest in eurovision! I'll agree that only a small proportion of viewers actually vote but I'd say its a very even spread of age groups...look at 2005 - two ballads reached the top 4. Would that have happened if it were only teenagers who were voting? Likewise in 2006 - who do you think voted the Bosnia & Herzegovina song into 3rd place? Have a listen and I doubt very much you'll think it was a pack of teenagers!
Col posted:
Isn't it all part of RTE's plan to make sure they don't have to stage the Eurovision again?
Well that is the most interesting question of all, Col. You wouldn't know what to think. They would probably see it as a nuisance if they were to win and stage it yet again but on the other hand, they put in a lot of effort in 2006. I believe they made a genuine effort to do well last year. They altered the mix of song a few times before the contest itself in order to improve it and they produced not one, but two preview videos for the song - they haven't done that in donkeys years! Granted, the 1st one was purely a tourist advert but why go to the bother of filming a video if you don't want to do well? The one they actually used was not touristy at all and could only have been for the benefit of the song. Again - why do that if you're not interested in it? I don't think they have the attitude of not wanting to win - it just doesn't add up. However they might just want to do well for the sake of viewer ratings
but
not win so they don't have to stage it...its very hard to know what their real attitude is.
Given Ireland's performances in the Eurovision and the voting patterns over the past 10 years, Brian Kennedy did rather well to finish 10th last year.
